Interdependence, Not Independence Conclusion

Last updated on: December 30, 2008 at 7:00 am by Henry Karlson

Interdependence, Not Independence Conclusion 2008-12-30T07:00:04-05:00 Henry Karlson

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Even before we reach the eschatological end, we must not abandon the hope that we can experience elements of it here and now, and from them, do what we can do to help others experience them for themselves. This is because in the incarnation, the eschaton has already come. The task of the Church, and through the Church, the task of society at large, is to help bring the fruit of incarnation to everyone. For this reason, we are to be our brother’s keeper, the helper of our neighbor. Even if our neighbor does not understand and acts hostilely against us, we cannot neglect our duty to them. In such a situation, they are ignorant of their true self, and what would allow them to experience the happiness they seek. Our experience of grace should encourage us to show mercy to them, for we must remember how we were once like them. Based upon Christian love, we should help them come to the same understanding we have obtained; we should work for their benefit, for their welfare. We must become bearers of a message of hope, the hope of salvation, especially to those who currently avoid it. We believe it is a message of hope, because it is a message of how we can attain our own happiness.

Knowing our place in the world gives us a sense of meaning; knowing the direction and teleological goal our life is meant to have will allow us to work so we can achieve it. That is, we can achieve what we most truly want, happiness, because we will know what it is which would actually give it to us. Without such knowledge, we might think certain actions will lead to it, and indeed, for a small amount of time, they might give us some pleasure, but we must not confuse an immediate, transitory effect with their final end. Much of what brings immediate pleasure leads to great, and long-lasting suffering. Even a mediocre knowledge of our proper, interdependent place in creation could help us know the far-reaching consequences of our actions and help us avoid those temptations which would prevent us from achieving true happiness. The better our knowledge is, the more we can act upon it, but also the more we act upon it, the more true freedom we have, the less we will be seduced by temptation, and the greater ability we have to prevent not just ourselves, but others, from falling into perdition.

Humanity is, as Fedorov would say, called to a common task, where we are meant to work together in order to help bring about the eschaton. Obviously we must not think we can do it ourselves, or that utopia is to be had outside of the full realization of the kingdom of heaven – but, we cannot be monothelites and think the end will come about solely as a divine work without human cooperation. Salvation is to be shared, not hid away and kept for oneself – salvation is itself communal, not individual. Those who seek Christ for individual gain, or those who seek to take the treasure given to them by Christ and bury it in the sand so as to have no one steal it will get their just reward – but it will be far less than what they desire; those who take the gift given to them by Christ, and use it to further Christ’s work will find that their effort is never in vain, and the bounty of their work will be far beyond that which did.

We do know, as Christ has promised us, that the end will come, and the eschaton will be revealed. What it will show will not be what has been done by divine will alone, but what we have made with the divine will: God allows us to be co-workers of his, creating, as it were, the end by our actions. In such a fashion, we are able to reach out beyond our finite existence, to overcome the finitude of our existence. We will experience more than individual life, but communal joy, and that joy will unite us, one with another, as we share in the glory of God. Our life will be infinitely nourished by the bounty of God’s grace, and through that grace, we will experience others, not as hostile forces to be overcome, but as people, like ourselves, who have much to offer us, offerings which lead to greater joy than what we could have without them. We must, as Vladimir Solovyov pointed out, remember that we can never return unto ourselves our own being; rather only get it if we reach out and receive it from others. Buddhism shows how we can recognize this fact according to the ways of natural law, while Christianity shows us the implications of this fact as we meet God face to face in the bonds of love.

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